


Flashes

by HandmaidenOfHorror



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Dimension Travel, F/F, Post-Canon, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:07:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25782619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HandmaidenOfHorror/pseuds/HandmaidenOfHorror
Summary: Catra is too stubborn to seek help for disturbing side effects of Horde Prime's control of her.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8
Collections: Darkest Night 2020





	Flashes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [redlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/redlight/gifts).



Ever since she’s been freed from Horde Prime’s control, Catra has had those… flashes. She really couldn’t tell what they were, and there was no way in hell she’d tell anyone, unless she wanted to be put in a cage like Shadow Weaver and Double Trouble were. (Honestly, she thought those two belonged in cages, dubious heel face turn and a heroic sacrifice non withstanding.)

When Horde Prime was still alive, those flashes were easy to explain – due to damaged chip, she still had a partial and one way connection with the Horde hive mind, allowing her to be helpful to her friends on multiple occasions. Sometimes she saw the world with the eyes of a random Horde clone for a few seconds without meaning to, but it was not too bad, right?

But after Prime was dead, things turned out, well, weird. A few days after the victory she was with nearly the whole Alliance walking through the Woods and observing new plants, animals and other life forms introduced (or, apparently, reintroduced) to Etheria, honestly pretty boring to her, and next moment she found herself walking through Crimson Waste, Scorpia at her side, talking about something cheerfully.

“What’s wrong?” asked Scorpia as Catra suddenly stopped and started looking around frantically.

“How did we get to Crimson Waste? Where’s everybody else?” she asked Scorpia.

“Oh dear,” Scorpia was worried, “we shouldn’t have been so long in the sun, I knew it!”

“Scorpia, please,” said Catra, and Scorpia just stared at her, surprised by Catra _pleading_ her.

“We walked here, don’t you remember? Looking for fuel canisters. And rest of the gang are at the campsite-“

“What gang? Scorpia, what are you talking about? Where’s Adora?”

The last question saddened Scorpia, but Catra didn’t think about it at as she saw her shadow. She had a _mane_. A mane shaved by Horde Prime. How-

She was back in Whispering Woods. _What the holy fuck was it_ , thought Catra, but she never worded it. It was like the time she had almost destroyed the world, only this time she was in Adora’s place. Was it some kind of karmic justice? If so, Catra could bear it alone.

The next flash didn’t happen for months, but when it did, it was so much worse. One second she was on board of Darla, rummaging for a midnight snack while everybody else was asleep, and on the other, she was in the Fright Zone again. She actually pinched herself to see if she could ‘wake up’ faster that way, but all she got were claw marks on her arm. She realized that if those ‘flashes’ are growing longer, one day she may be unable to return to her real life and that thought terrified her.

She heard footsteps and immediately turned her head towards them in alarm, but felt relief upon seeing the person approaching her. It was Adora! Sure, she had a Horde uniform, shaved head and weird blackish-gray make up around her eyes, but Adora was always Adora.

“Adora!” Catra cried out and ran towards her girlfriend. She stopped when she saw Adora move her gaze from the tablet she was reading, her look full of annoyance and lacking any warmth that was almost always there. She looked at Catra the way ‘her’ Adora looked at her when she was trying to destroy the world.

“That’s _Despara_ , and _Lieutenant Despara_ for you, _Captain_ ,” Adora said coldly, “Do you have anything to say to me or are you just wasting my time?”

“I-“, Catra was at loss of words.

“Mind your superiors or you’ll meet a fate worse than being demoted,” Adora said and returned to marching, eyes glued back to her tablet.

“She has turned really mean when she was promoted and took a new name,” Kyle said, appearing out of nowhere, “not that she’s been nice before. Not in a long time. But I thought she’d at least remain a friend with you.”

Catra couldn’t stand it anymore. She screamed. She fell to the ground, wailing, eyes wet with tears and unseeing. She knew she gathered a crowd, but she didn’t care. Not until she heard the beloved voice call out to her.

“Catra?!” Adora shouted, voice full of worry and determination to protect her girlfriend, “What’s wrong?”

She was back onboard of Darla, her _friends_ around her! Scorpia, Entrapta, Glimmer, Bow and _**Adora**_! Catra fell silent, sat up, wiped her eyes and allowed Adora to hug her. Then she said:

“I need your help.”

**Author's Note:**

> I imagine Despara in Bucky's make up from Winter Soldier.


End file.
